PURI: Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra were adorned in Rajrajeswar Besha on the occasion of Kartika Purnima on Friday. Early in the morning, sevayats performed Mangala Alati, Mailam, Tadap Lagi and Abakash rituals and offered Gopal Bhog to the Trinity.
Subsequently, gold ornaments from the temple treasury were brought out and three sets of servitors began dressing the deities. It took two hours to complete the Besha. However, since Srimandir was closed on the day to prevent a congregation of people, there were no devotees to witness the Besha.
Meanwhile, hundreds of devotees observing Kartika brata queued up to have darshan of the Patitapaban image of Lord Jagannath at Simhadwar. Unlike previous years, the devotees were restricted from taking a dip in Panch Tirtha (five sacred ponds) on the occasion as the administration had imposed a ban on bathing in water bodies due to the prevailing pandemic situation.
Later in the evening after the Suna Besha, the ornaments were returned to the temple treasury. Traditional sailing of miniature boats, popularly known as Boita Bandana, was also prohibited by the administration. Twenty platoons of police force were deployed to prevent the gathering of devotees.